“Roundabout Kranj,” as the monument has been officially dubbed, sees a Bitcoin logo placed in the center of the roundabout connecting Oldhamska and Gregorčičeva street, a “connecting point” for the city’s “urban ecosystem.”
The monument was designed by Selman Čorović & KRARH Society and its construction was financed by cryptocurrency exchange Bitstamp and tech startup 3fs, both of which are based in Kranj.
According to a statement, this location was chosen to represent the “decentralized connections” that the blockchain creates between individuals located across the globe, adding that the city hopes the Bitcoin monument will send a message that Slovenia embraces digital technologies.
From the statement:
“By revealing the commemorative monument, Slovenia will create and send into the world a message that emphasises its openness to digitization, its susceptibility to the use of new technologies and its hospitality towards progressive thinking, which aims not only at the optimization of everyday life, but also at interpersonal trust, transparency and cooperation. To local residents it will be a reminder of connectivity and of openness to new things — the foundations of a quality life in the future.”
The Bitcoin monument will officially be unveiled on March 13 in a ceremony opened by Kranj Mayor Boštjan Trilar, Slovenia State Secretary Tadej Slapnik, and Bitcoin Association Slovenia president Jure Pirc.
This is not Slovenia’s first attempt to attract more blockchain startups to the country.
As CCN reported, Slovenia Prime Minister Miro Cerar gave a speech last year in which he said that the country was establishing a “national blockchain ecosystem” and hoped to become the “most recognized blockchain destination in the European Union.”
However, the country has not been quite as welcoming to initial coin offerings (ICOs). In October, the Financial Stability Board warned investors that, like other cryptocurrencies, ICO tokens are unregulated, so buyers should “limit their investments” in this asset class. That said, regulators stopped short of adopting regulations to prevent investors from contributing to ICOs.
https://www.ccn.com/slovenias-fourth-largest-city-home-bitcoin-roundabout/